Doug Smith's Blog, page 3

How Social Media and Screens Have Hijacked Our Hearts and Minds: The Preston Sprinkle Interview

If you haven’t listened to the Theology in the Raw podcast with Preston Sprinkle, you’re missing some of the most thoughtful and engaging conversations. Preston’s motto is “love widely, and think deeply.” He’s a Bible scholar par excellence, but his obvious love of people with diverse belief systems makes him unusually engaging and winsome. I’ve […]

TikTok Wins By Hoarding Data, but Is Privacy The Real Concern?

TikTok is winning. Dominating. Conquering. But what game are they playing? There’s no doubt that TikTok’s copycat competitors are intimidated by the winner. That’s why Instagram added “Reels” that feel just like TikTok. And YouTube recently added “Shorts” for the same reason. If two of the biggest Big Tech companies are dancing to TikTok’s beat, ...

The Secret Scheme of Screens, and How To Sever Big Tech’s Strings, with Mind Matters News

I’ve been a long-time fan of Discovery Institute’s Center for Science and Culture. Their cutting-edge Walter Bradley Center for Natural and Artificial Intelligence publishes some of the best content on these subjects through their articles and podcast. I’ve learned so much from them over the years. So what a joy it was for me to ...

How To Overcome Deceptively Effective Screens With The Covenant Eyes Podcast

A decades+ dream came true as I joined the Covenant Eyes podcast this week. I’ve recommended Covenant Eyes for years, since I believe so strongly in their mission to help people overcome pornography. This podcast is about much more than that, though: it’s about understanding how to become more intentional with your life so that ...

Healthy Screen Use with Nathan Sutherland of GospelTech.net

Nathan Sutherland and I had a great conversation on his GospelTech podcast. Nathan and his wife Anna are doing a really important work: helping families navigate our screen-saturated world with a focus on the Gospel of Christ. We offer hope for parents who are willing to be more intentional with their families than today’s most ...

If the App is Free, Are We the Product, Sold Like a Human Slave?

Last fall, in the five minutes a week I spend on Facebook, I shared a provocative idea. It raised a question, a push-back, even a disagreement. Take a look: I’m grateful for Greg’s push-back, as it inspired this (long delayed) post. I don’t debate on social media, but I welcome debate in blog comments. As ...

An Inspiring Conversation with Eric Rutherford

I’m grateful to Eric Rutherford for the inspiring conversation on his Entrusting The Faith podcast. He has a wonderful heart for families, and works hard to equip parents with the tools they need to disciple their kids in a challenging world. I found his questions insightful and his analysis and summary at the end especially ...

A Great Interview with ScreenStrong Podcast

I recently had the honor of appearing on the ScreenStrong Families Podcast. I think the 25-minute interview with Marketing Director Mandee Hamann is one of the most helpful I’ve done. If you need encouragement to become more intentional with screens — yours or your family’s — I think you’ll appreciate this episode. If so, please ...

Kellogg’s And Blues Clues: Lying With Pride, Destroying Our Kids

It’s so hard to see a delusion for what it is when you’re immersed in it. When everything you see and hear and feel confirm the powerful propaganda. But lies are obvious to anyone on the outside. And it’s so easy to just go along — to float on the raging river of lies. We ...

With “Play Something”, Netflix Attacks More Of Your Brain

Netflix — an enemy of your intentional life — deployed a new weapon in their desire-shaping arsenal a couple weeks ago. It’s a deceptively helpful sounding button titled: “Play Something”. According to Netflix’s own announcement: “There are times when we just don’t want to make decisions. A Friday evening after a long work week. A fridge ...